Saturday, February 20, 2010

Wurzel jailed for 4 months for throwing a programme at Michael Chopra

This from last night's Bristol Evening Post.


Looks like Cardiff City fan can laugh at him again, what a charmer he seems to be!



A Bristol City fan has been jailed for 16 weeks for throwing a football programme at an opposition player as he prepared to take a corner.

As well as losing his temper during the match, lifelong Robins fan Kevin Crehan lost his cool at Bristol Magistrates' Court this week when he realised his rash action during the 6-0 home defeat to Cardiff City had reactivated a suspended sentence.

Magistrates were half way through reading their sentence when it dawned on Crehan that he faced jail.

Waving his hand dismissively at the bench, he said: "Push off,

I've had enough of you".

He then took his coat off, stood at the end of the dock behind glass doors, and squared up to court security guards, saying: "Come on then."

As two guards moved towards him he violently kicked one of the fixed chairs out of the ground and began wrestling with the two men.

It took seven security guards to subdue him and carry him kicking from the court to the cells below.

The incident occurred after Crehan, 28, of Springleaze, Knowle, pleaded guilty to throwing a programme on to the pitch from the Wedlock Stand at Ashton Gate on January 26, during a Championship match in which Bristol City were thrashed by their rivals from South Wales.

The court heard that during the second half, Crehan ran down towards the corner of the pitch to throw his programme at Cardiff striker Michael Chopra as he prepared to take a corner.

The programme narrowly missed Chopra's head, and Crehan was immediately arrested by police.

In interview, Crehan told officers that as the player came over to Bristol City fans, he was making gestures and waving his fingers to signal the 5-0 scoreline at the time.

Defending, Selena Hunt invited magistrates not to impose a custodial sentence, saying normally they wouldn't consider custody for throwing a programme onto the pitch.

She said: "Prior to this there was an event that caused lots of people to throw their programmes onto the pitch.

"What my client did is respond to that by singularly throwing his programme on to the pitch. It didn't hit him."

She added Crehan had suffered huge embarrassment after the incident, that the Cardiff fans were laughing at him and making fun of him when he was arrested.

In a verdict interrupted by Crehan's violence, presiding magistrate Patricia Lee said: "This has been suggested to us as being minor, but we view it seriously.

"It was preceded by a positive action to run down the stands to the playing area, and you threw a rolled-up programme at a player."

Magistrates said the incident would activate a suspended sentence handed to Crehan on December 9 for assault, meaning he would serve 16 weeks behind bars. No separate penalty was given for the charge of throwing the programme at the pitch.

Crehan had arrived at Bristol Magistrates' Court just after 10am. His case was heard at about 4.45pm, and he had been angry that people who had arrived after him had their cases heard before him.

Ms Hunt said he was a vulnerable adult who suffered brain damage after an accident.

Adam Baker, spokesman for Bristol City Football Club, said: "It is an offence to throw anything onto the pitch and we don't condone it in any way, whether it is bottles, coins or, in this instance, a programme."

No comments: